Police issued a warning two weeks ago about a fraudulent fund-raising campaign, but an organization of local police personnel say the phone calls and letters are legitimate, its leaders say.
Residents complained after being solicited for donations by a group saying it was affiliated with Evanston Police Department.
The group — Evanston Lodge 69 of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) — isn’t allowed to use EPD’s name in its solicitations.
“The Evanston Police Department does not solicit for funds, nor do any of its members,” said Cmdr. Michael Perry of EPD. Because of this rule, any solicitation that claims to be affiliated with EPD is a scam, he said.
According to EPD Chief Frank Kaminski, FOP sent out the letter, which solicited funds in EPD’s name.
Evanston FOP Lodge Vice President Dan Mangas said the letter — meant to be sent to businesses as an introduction to FOP — was an early draft and was revised before money-raising efforts began. None of the letters claiming affiliation with EPD should have been sent out, he said.
EPD and FOP are currently trying to figure out where the mix-up occurred.
About 110 active-duty Evanston police officers and supervisors belong to the local FOP and make up about 95 percent of its members, Mangas said. The group fund-raises to support its own operating costs and to donate to various charities.
EPD and the city issued the scam warning after receiving reports of “telephone solicitations from a telemarketing firm on behalf of some fraternal police organization,” according to an item still posted Tuesday in the news section of the city’s Web site, www.cityofevanston.org.
The advisories urge anyone who receives a call claiming to represent EPD to notify the police.
Mangas said he agreed with the reasoning in the city’s statement but denied FOP’s involvement in any scam calls.
If there is any doubt as to the legitimacy of a call, Mangas urged residents not to donate.
“We’ve been trying to work with FOP to do something about these solicitations,” Kaminski said. “This money does not go to the Evanston Police Department. That’s just the bottom line.”
The EPD scam warning came weeks after the FOP began the first phase of its annual fund-raiser.
The FOP has hired Sports Legends Marketing Group, based in Westchester, Ill., to conduct its fund-raising efforts. The telemarketing group has already begun calling Evanston businesses. During the second fund-raising phase, the group will call Evanston residents.
“The important thing is (the telemarketers) must not represent themselves as police officers, because they are not police officers,” Mangas said.
